In an effort to effectively improve the elderly depressions, this study focused on the relation between ego-integrity and reminiscence. Elderly people's ego-integrity can serve as an important psychological variable for the depressive elderly - who a...
In an effort to effectively improve the elderly depressions, this study focused on the relation between ego-integrity and reminiscence. Elderly people's ego-integrity can serve as an important psychological variable for the depressive elderly - who are left with reminiscence about their past lives and unsolved tasks -, and this can be achieved through the reminiscence therapeutic function of reconstructing and re-integrating the past from a new point of view. Based on the ground that the reminiscence therapy can be more effective when the media that stimulate reminiscence are provided, the reminiscence-oriented sandtray play program was developed. To verify the effect of the program, two tasks were researched.
In order to identify the effect of reminiscence function and ego-integrity on depressions, research task 1 surveyed 334 elderly people. For the data collected , a correlation analysis and simple regression analysis were performed by using SPSS 20, and mediating effects between variables were verified. Firstly, the findings of the study revealed that the reminiscence function had a significant positive correlation with ego-integrity, while having a significant negative correlation with depressions. And also ego-integrity had a significant negative correlation with depressions; thus, the higher the ego-integrity was, the lower the depression was. Secondly, the reminiscence function not only had a direct effect on ego-integrity, but also had an indirect effect on improving depressions through ego-integrity. Thus, ego-integrity had a partial mediating effect on the relation between the reminiscence function and depressions.
Research task 2, based on the research and literature study results, developed the program model and verified the effects of the program on depressions, brain waves and ego-integrity. Selected subjects were eight 65 years old or older elderly people who had no cognitive function damage, who scored over ten points in the depression scale (GDSSF-K), and who scored over 24 points in the temporary mentality examination (MMSE-K). Five of them were randomly allocated to the experimental group, and three of them were allocated to the controled group. The experimental group was applied the theme-presented directive reminiscence-oriented sandtray play program, 60-minute sessions twice a week. Total of six sessions were held based on an individual interview basis. Depression Scale and ego-integrity Scale were conducted before and after the sessions. For each session, ex ante and ex post brain waves were measured, and for corresponding results, repeated measures ANOVA was performed using the SPSS 20. As a result, first, the elderly in the experimental group, compare to the elderly in the controled group, decreased in depressions while increasing in ego-integrity. Also, the experimental group experienced a positive brain wave change compared to the controled group. Second, in the experimental group, the observed depressive behavior and the linguistic reaction related to ego-integrity experienced a positive change comparing the sessions before.
The findings of this study offer the following significant implications. First, it is proved that the mediating variable influencing the elderly depressions is ego-integrity. The study is also proved that the sandtray play can be used as a counseling media that triggers reminiscence. Second, in measuring the effect of the program, the brain wave that can identify neural-physiological changes was measured, thus enhancing the external validity of measuring the effect, and offering an objective index. Third, qualitative and quantitative analysis of research results was performed, thus revealing how the recollection of the past and unresolved tasks were changed.
However, because this study targeted only eight elderly people, it is difficult to generalize research results. Since the experimental group and the controled group participated in different programs, the corresponding influence difference could not be disregarded. Thus, to enable to generalize the research results, an advanced research need to target numbers of elderly people with diverse characteristics. In measuring the effects, also, the intervention of confounding variables should be controlled as much as possible. And an advanced research will be needed a more objective and empirical analysis.